Hide the kids, the beast is out to play.

In case you have forgotten, those extremely long exhaust pipes are there to tone down the engine’s soundtrack, otherwise the car simply wouldn’t comply with the Nürburgring rules. But despite the hardware trickery, this ZR1 prototype is still extremely loud while the man behind the wheel pushes the pedal to the metal. Not only does it sound fast, but it looks to be equally quick when test driver takes it to the max through the 73 corners of the Nordschleife.

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While some of the previous prototypes had a huge rear wing visible from the moon, Chevy appears to have installed a somewhat more subtle setup. “Subtle” might not be the most suitable term to use as there isn’t anything discreet about the ZR1. Massive air vents and a bulging hood up front, vented fenders on the sides, and those beefy exhaust pipes at the back – the meanest ‘Vette of them all looks the business.

Update:

A best-case scenario stipulates we will see the Corvette in the ZR1 guise as early as next month during IMSA’s Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The biggest secret has to do with the engine lurking underneath the menacing hood. A newly developed 6.2-liter V8 “LT5” seems to rank high among reports also suggesting output will at least hit 700 horsepower, if not surpass it.

Naturally, the ZR1 will serve as the flagship model of the Corvette (C7) range and will be succeeded by the all-new C8 expected to debut at some point next year. When it will arrive, the next-gen model will probably have the mid-engine layout everyone’s been talking about for decades. It should be mentioned the C8’s debut might not necessarily spell the end of the C7 since rumor has it the two will peacefully coexist, at least for a while.